Democrats Trim Convention to 3 Days

Democrats are shortening their Charlotte, N.C., convention from the traditional four days to three, bowing to the reality that not much business takes place at these gatherings any more.

Barack Obama waves with his family and Joe Biden’s family after his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field in Denver Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Decades ago, political conventions featured wheeling and dealing to determine who would be the party’s presidential nominee, or at least vice presidential pick. No more.This year’s Democratic gathering promises to be particularly devoid of suspense, with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden running unopposed for their party’s nominations.

The Democratic National Convention Committee also announced that Mr. Obama would again deliver his speech accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination in an open air sports arena, the Bank of America Stadium, which holds about 74,000 people, again risking rain in favor of drama and the chance to recruit new volunteers.

The decision to compress the convention into three days was driven in part by lack of interest from the television networks, which have cut back their coverage over time, a convention official said. “This gives us an opportunity to decide which days are covered.”

Officials said they would use Labor Day, which was slated to be the convention’s opening day, to organize and train volunteers to help register and turn out voters in North Carolina and neighboring Virginia, officials said Tuesday. Officially, the day will feature an event to “celebrate the Carolinas, Virginia and the South.”

They also hope to use the open-air convention speech as a recruiting tool, signing up people who attend. In addition, it may present a fund-raising opportunity for the host committee to sell seats in the stadium sky boxes.

There’s one other wrinkle to putting the convention at the stadium, given that it’s named for Bank of America, whose reputation has been tarnished due to practices under its Countrywide mortgage unit, including questionable home loans and then aggressive foreclosure on people who could not pay their terms. The bank has also been attacked for formerly onerous overdraft fees and its proposed $5 monthly fee to use debit cards.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the Obama speech will be at this stadium for a simple reason—it’s the biggest venue in Charlotte. “That allows for greater participation by Americans from all walks of life,” he said.

Four years ago, it took some convincing to persuade Mr. Obama to deliver his acceptance speech in Denver’s Invesco Field, his 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, wrote in his memoir about the race, “The Audacity to Win.” He wrote that the idea was attractive because it would bring grassroots supporters who had powered the campaign into the event. He also appreciated the fact that no nominee had delivered an outdoor speech since 1960, when President John F. Kennedy did so in Los Angeles.

Pulling it off required overcoming a variety of logistical complications, but the one that worried Mr. Obama was the possibility of rain or lightning. Mr. Plouffe told him that friends at the meteorologists union had studied the last 100 August 28th at 8 p.m. in Denver and found it had rained only once, and that was showers. Still, Mr. Obama worried, particularly after Mr. Plouffe told him there was no backup plan—if the forecast called for rain, they would have to go forward with the outdoor speech due to concerns from the Secret Service and the fact that tens of thousands of people would be en route already. Further, he told Mr. Obama that he could not have a covering on standby because it “wouldn’t work visually.”

Mr. Obama finally agreed. “OK, we go outside,” he said, according to the memoir. “But at some point our luck will run out. So if it’s raining, I want you and (adviser David) Axelrod out there holding goddamn umbrellas over my head while I give the speech.”

The convention official said that for 2012, a study of weather patterns in Charlotte was completed as part of the selection process used to decide where to hold the convention. She added that with more time to prepare this year, there will be an indoor back-up plan available.

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